The dowel side components are usually produced at automated machines from source material wrapped on spools. Prior examples of automated machines which are capable of producing dowel side components from source material wrapped on spools include U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,210B2, where the equivalent terminology “dowel side frames” is used to identify the dowel side components. FIGS. 1A-1C of prior U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,210B2 depict several examples of dowel side components in isolation. FIG. 1D thereof is believed particularly instructive because it depicts an entire, assembled dowel basket in isolation from any machine. It should be readily understood, however, that U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,210B2 disclosed machines which were only capable of producing the dowel side frames, not the completed and assembled dowel basket depicted in its FIG. 1D. This basket employed, as shown, two of the produced dowel side frames. Accordingly, machines disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,210B2 were not capable of directly delivering the product depicted in its FIG. 1D.
In the context of FIG. 1D of prior U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,210B2, assembled dowel baskets with which the present invention is concerned are typically produced from the assembly of such dowel side components. The known and usual practice is manual production of the dowel baskets. Thus, usually for each form of dowel basket there is constructed a particular jig on which the dowel components are manually placed, and where also the dowel rods are manually introduced, so as to then be welded manually at the desired locations, typically using electrical welding. Subsequently, transverse tie wires are also manually welded so as to imbue rigidity to the flexible assembled dowel basket for further handling. As may be understood, with these production practices, various dowel baskets respectively require different production jigs.